EVs to account for 10% of India’s car market by FY27, says Tata Motors’ Shailesh Chandra

Mumbai: Electric cars will comprise nearly a tenth of India’s passenger vehicle market by this fiscal year-end, said Shailesh Chandra, managing director at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, the country’s top EV maker.

He said the domestic EV market has entered a fundamentally different phase—one that’s driven by mainstream buyers rather than technology enthusiasts.

“FY25 saw EV penetration at 2.5%,” he told reporters, ahead of the unveiling of the Sierra electric SUV, Tata’s fifth EV model. “It rose to 4.5% in FY26. In the first quarter of FY27, it is already between 6.5% and 7%, and we expect it to touch around 8% as the year progresses. By the end of FY27, it will be close to 10%.”

Chandra believes that the growing EV sales reflect a structural shift rather than a temporary surge.

Monthly EV sales have risen from fewer than 10,000 units in FY25 to nearly 28,000 units in the quarter ended June, as buyers become more comfortable with charging infrastructure, battery warranties, and a wider choice of products. Multiple manufacturers entering the segment have also strengthened consumer confidence that electric mobility is here to stay, adding that the domestic market is moving from a “push” to a “pull” phase.

For Tata Motors, the strategy is no longer about creating demand but ensuring it can keep pace with it. Chandra acknowledged that supply constraints remain a challenge, pointing to the Harrier EV as an example where demand is currently running at roughly twice available production. The company will enhance capacity over the next several months as it balances supply across multiple products and segments.

The automaker’s broader strategy also reflects changing consumer preferences. Rather than chasing revenue market share, Tata continues to benchmark itself on volume leadership, while steadily moving its portfolio towards higher-value segments where the market’s centre of gravity is shifting. Revenue growth, Chandra said, is a consequence of that strategy, not the objective.

He expects EVs to account for more than 30% of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle sales by FY31, with the company currently deriving roughly a fifth of its volume and about a quarter of its passenger vehicle revenue from EV.